Compiled by Dave Itzkoff

Published: September 9, 2009

J. M. Coetzeedrew one step closer to becoming the first author to win the Man Booker Prize for fiction three times as the short list of nominees for that British literary award was announced on Tuesday. Mr. Coetzee's novel ''Summertime,'' about a writer working on a biography of a deceased author named John Coetzee, is one of six books to make the final cut for the prize, its organizers said in a news release. The real Mr. Coetzee won the prize for his novels ''Life & Times of Michael K'' in 1983 and ''Disgrace'' in 1999. The five other finalists are ''The Children's Book'' by A. S. Byatt (a Man Booker winner in 1990 for her novel ''Possession''); ''The Little Stranger'' by Sarah Waters, who is on the short list for the third time; ''The Quickening Maze'' by Adam Foulds; ''Wolf Hall'' by Hilary Mantel; and ''The Glass Room'' by Simon Mawer. The winner of the prize, which comes with about $82,000, will be announced on Oct. 6.